Hello everyone! I can't thank enough those people who reviewed, favoured and followed this story in the last month. I considered putting this story on the backburner until better times. Your encouragement and readership are the reasons I am continuing to write In The Desert today. Thank you. *hugs*

Thank you Peanut61654 for putting up with me when I was being so difficult.

Last time In The Desert:

"That's for earlier," Natsu said. His voice was strangely devoid of emotion. "Touch me in my sleep again and I'll kill you." He picked up the fallen note and left.

CHAPTER 6

REGRETS

Gray sat up, finally drawing a painful breath. So, Natsu was awake then? Why hadn't he done anything? Like, open his eyes, grab my arm, yell or something? Why did he let me touch him?

It made no sense!

But at the same time, Gray felt light with excitement and adrenaline. No one had pulled a move like that on him before. Natsu was so close the prince had felt the slave's hot breath against his cheek. Their chests had almost touched - in the middle of fighting.

How dare he smirk and come so titillatingly close just as the prince decided not to touch the slave ever again? Gray's body trembled. To think that Natsu got so close to him of his own accord, even if it was under the pretence of fighting… Gray's head was spinning.

Natsu's actions confused him. He didn't have to come so close just to punch him; he could have done that at a distance. He wouldn't have come so close to me if he truly hated me…

Did that mean that Natsu, maybe, possibly, just a tiny little bit, liked him?

Gray's mind supplied the image of the Tribal leader leaning in, smirking, his lips a hair width's away from Gray's. The raven felt hot all over at the thought. His breathing picked up and he struggled to control it. The mosaic tiles felt cool and smooth to his touch. They anchored him to the ground because he felt like he was falling.

The intense feelings held him for several agonising minutes. Natsu had thoroughly scattered his thoughts – Gray felt completely out of control and unable to form a coherent sentence in his mind. He tried to get a grip on his emotions and it scared him that he couldn't. He closed his eyes and waited for the vulnerable state to pass.

Eventually he calmed down, the intense feelings subsiding to a mild tightening in his chest. Dazed, he walked to the bathroom. The right side of his face throbbed, but that didn't diminish Gray's grin.

Natsu didn't truly hate him.

Yes, the slave won that round, but for some reason he didn't feel like a loser. His bottom lip was split at the corner, and a little blood had dribbled to his chin. The prince hissed as he cleaned the wound with a wet cloth. That guy can pack a punch. He better not get punched again or Natsu may seriously break his jaw.

Which brought the raven to more serious considerations. He should have been on his guard. One second was all it took. He hadn't realised there was anything wrong until the slave was smirking in his face, a fist raised in the air.

But in a way, I may deserve some of it.

He did force Natsu to endure his massage, even though it was supposed to help. He doubted Natsu saw it that way. However, how he had touched Natsu again when he was sleeping was inexcusable.

Yeah I totally deserved that, Gray thought.

But he still should have said something!

There was nothing to do but wait for his slave to return. Gray memorised more Tribal while he waited.

As time passed, he didn't want for Natsu to come back. He knew he was thinking irrationally but he couldn't chase away his dread. Should he punish him for what he's done even though Gray deserved some of it? He didn't want Natsu to think he could do whatever he pleased, but he didn't want to use force or be feared either.

He didn't know what to do. The massage was a mistake. Had their situations been reversed, Gray would have been pissed too.

This only cemented his decision to just leave the Tribal leader alone.

As for the Tribal language, he was a little surprised how much had come back to him. He used to speak fluent Tribal as a child. After all, his nanny was a Tribal slave. Then one day she disappeared and palace tutors took her place. He only spoke high Common since then, until Phantom Lord— no, his father— threw Natsu into his already complicated life.

Gray rubbed his sore jaw and turned over the page.

SLAM!

The prince jumped at the sound of the door slamming. Natsu raised his eyebrows as if asking 'are you stupid?', a tray of food clutched in his arms. Startled, Gray didn't react other than stare. The slave approached, and Gray nearly panicked. He hadn't made up his mind about how to treat him. Should he try to appear angry? Displeased? Even though he wasn't totally displeased?

Natsu was already in front of him, looking down at him with measuring green eyes. The raven, in his conflicted state, settled on a firm and slightly stern stare. The Tribal leader's gaze flickered to his split lip. Gray expected him to gloat or smile or something, but he could read nothing in those mysterious emerald orbs.

Instead, a heavy foreboding sense of deja-vu washed over him as the slave lifted up the tray. He didn't know what he'd do if Natsu dumped food on him again. With everything that happened today, and with the way Natsu watched his every movement, he was afraid he might just snap.

He kept a straight face as the slave held out the tray towards him...

...and dropped it on the table roughly. The cutlery clanged but nothing spilled over. The Tribal leader then backed away, crossed his arms over his chest and smirked.

Gray refused to be rattled. He checked the meal off his instructions with growing apprehension. Yet nothing seemed to be missing or tempered with.

Gray turned a questioning gaze at his slave. Natsu, obeying him? It was too good to be true. The slave's smug expression seemed to confirm his suspicious. He couldn't know for sure that the Salamander hadn't put mosaic tiles into his mashed potatoes.

He picked up a fork and the smugness instantly disappeared off the slave's face. The pinkette looked away and swallowed.

So he really did obey me this time…

Otherwise he'd be watching the prince eagerly, waiting for him to break his teeth on whatever surprise the slave had hidden in the meal. Instead, the Tribal leader looked at his feet and clenched his fists. Gray played around with the potatoes, more intent on watching as the Dragon became more and more agitated.

Finally Natsu seemed to have enough and turned to leave to his room.

"Stay," Gray commanded.

Natsu bared his fangs at him, clearly pissed.

"Stay or I'll make watermill twice long tomorrow."

Natsu tensed, his eyes narrowing, his nostrils flaring in obvious anger. He looked the most angry Gray had seen him, and for a moment the prince was afraid he might do something stupid and violent, like attack him or crush the room. Gray forced himself to keep a calm face and relaxed uncaring posture even though he was tense inside like strings in a harp. He mentally calculated the fastest way out of danger in case the slave exploded again.

Natsu looked like he wanted to murder Gray, his fangs bared and eyes ablaze. His heavy breathing was the only sound that filled the room. He looked into the princess's room, and Gray's fingers clutched hard around the fork at the thought he'd disobey. The room suddenly looked a little darker as the raven thought to punish his slave. Natsu swallowed, a low growling noise escaping his throat, fists still clenched hard. His hate-filled gaze met Gray's, but the effect was lessened through the prince's own black veil of anger and forceful will. Natsu stepped forward, and Gray rose to punish him, when the slave abruptly turned around, his back to the wall, arms over his chest and looking aside as if standing there pained him.

He stayed.

Some of Gray's anger evaporated, and he nodded in approval. The slave snarled, but didn't make any other moves. It was obvious he didn't want to stay here, watch him eat, the smell of food infused in the angry air. His wounds probably still pained him, the hunger probably aggravated the feeling, and the smell of food probably had a similar effect of a red flag to a bull. However he endured it, and Gray felt a little bit of respect for him at that moment, because he was smart enough to realise when a little obedience and tolerance were better off than two hours of intense punishment.

The prince pushed his meal around the plate some more. He wasn't feeling hungry. He was more interested to see if the Tribal leader would stay. Natsu fidgeted, avoided looking in his direction, and generally looked intensely frustrated, but he stayed in the room.

This lasted for twenty minutes. Gray couldn't eat, and the smell of food seemed to make him nauseous. Natsu sulked in his corner, half-turned away from the table, seemingly having tuned out the world.

"Natsu."

The Dragon turned, dull green eyes meeting his. Some anger returned into the slave's expression. Gray on the other hand, felt tired. The events of the day and the constant tension were wearing down on him.

"Come." The prince motioned to the cushion opposite him. "Eat." He pushed the now cool tray towards Natsu.

The slave looked surprised, eyebrows up, wide eyes looking at him in incomprehension. His arms went loose at his sides. He didn't move.

"You can eat," Gray said, leaning on his elbows and resting his chin on his hands. "You did as I say, you stay in room. You were good, so I give food." Then an afterthought hit him. "You can eat if you sit with me."

The Salamander looked tense again. Either he didn't want to fall for the bait, or he hated the prince so much he'd rather starve than sit with him.

Gray sighed. He was about to entice Natsu again, but stopped when the slave cautiously moved on his own. Gray couldn't help but hold his breath. Despite the injuries, Natsu moved in a powerful way that showcased his muscular body. He was also moving closer, and Gray readied himself for another attack. He wouldn't let his guard down like last time; the Tribal leader was unpredictable.

The pinkette stopped within talking distance, and reached for the tray. Seeing him so close, having those intense green eyes solely on him, brought the memory of the fight to the forefront of Gray's mind. He wished that Natsu would do that crazy move again…and dare to close the distance.

He blushed furiously when he realised what he had just imagined.

Damn it! I am not thinking this!

Natsu quickly snatched the tray and sat cross-legged a larger distance away than was allowed in polite etiquette. Gray squashed the feelings of disappointment. It would have been nice to sit together like last night, Mirajane's merry voice filling the silence. Instead he narrowed his eyes at the dragon slayer, displeased. However it was a small transgression, so he let it pass. He'd have more opportunities to curb disobedience out of his slave.

All things considered, this was a good outcome.

Then Natsu shoved the food into his mouth in the most barbaric manner, and Gray barely suppressed a cringe. Changing that eating habit would be the true good outcome, and was probably one hell of a challenge.

But not now.

"If you are good, if you do as I say and don't make trouble, I will remove the bracelets and give you your magic back." Gray waited until Natsu's gaze met his own. "I promise."

Something in the slave's look shifted. Gray couldn't name it, but it made his heart flutter for a moment. He was lost in the depth of Natsu's emerald orbs.

"I will remember that," Natsu said. Even his voice sounded pleasing when he wasn't shouting or wheezing in pain.

Gray instantly stopped that train of thought before it led anywhere, instead thinking how the atmosphere suddenly felt less tense. If only he could make Natsu behave like this all the time.

Pleasant silence settled across the room.

Someone knocked on the door.

The prince rose from his seat. "You finish," he said to Natsu, who was about two thirds through Gray's meal. Natsu dug back in, not about to pass up free food.

The prince was on his way to the door when the lock turned by itself and Juvia's veiled head peeked in. "Greetings Gray-sama! Juvia hopes she didn't interrupt anything!"

Gray put his hands in his pockets. "Not really."

She entered and reattached the chain around her neck that held her mother's pendant, and the keys to his, Lyon's and her own rooms. Gray and Lyon also carried all three sets of keys with them. You never knew when you needed a place to hide.

Juvia also brought a covered up basket with her. "What's in there?"

"It's a secret." She hummed merrily, then smiled at something over his shoulder. Too late he noticed her approach Natsu, who instantly bristled.

"Juvia, you shouldn't!"

"Hello! I am Juvia!" She extended her hand to him in a greeting, palm down, as was the custom for women in Fairy Tail.

Natsu rose, posture guarded.

Gray approached warily, trying not to startle them. He prepared to freeze the wild Tribe leader if he dared lay a finger on Juvia.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Juvia said in Tribal. "I forgot to speak Tribal! Hello! I am Juvia!" She repeated the gesture. "What's your name?"

"Natsu." He didn't change his guarded stance, and made no move to acknowledge her physical greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Natsu! In Fairy Tail, you greet women like this." She grabbed his fist, and brought it to her hand. Natsu visibly tensed and tried to jerk his hand away, but Juvia held firm. She pried at his fingers and he opened his palm. She guided his hand underneath hers, so that their palms touched. She smiled at him. "How do Dragon Tribe people greet each other?"

He looked uncomfortable. "Um…" He waved his right hand.

Juvia did the same. "Hello Natsu!"

He smiled faintly, before his gaze fell on Gray and he frowned.

"Natsu is coming with us, right?" Juvia said to Gray.

Gray shrugged, trying keep Natsu's frown from getting to him. He didn't care one way or another. He just wanted peace.

"Going where?" Natsu asked.

"Let's go!" Juvia walked into the princess's room, waving them to follow.

The prince sighed and went after her. After some hesitation, Natsu followed. He looked like he tried to figure out what was going on.

Gray hopped into Natsu's window and looked up. Whoever had built the palace, had imbedded one of the hooks supporting the roof too early, just in the right place for Gray to reach for it. He ran two steps and jumped off the side of the window, pushed off the hook and swung his legs over the roof's edge.

He hauled himself up onto the roof and checked if anyone watched them from the king's tower.

All clear.

He wiped the dust and sand off his hands and swung down as much as he could without falling to his death. He held out his hands to Juvia.

She held up the basket to him, which he put it on the roof ledge next to him. Then he grabbed both of Juvia's hands and hauled her up the roof. "Thank you, Gray-sama!"

Gray looked down over the roof's edge once more, where Natsu looked up at them. "You don't have to come," Gray said. Then he wouldn't have to worry about Natsu getting into any fights.

Natsu gave Gray a determined, if not condescending, look. "Anywhere's better than this place." He hopped into the window and examined the underside of the roof.

Gray held out a hand to help him up.

Natsu jumped off the window's side, pushed off the hook and climbed gracefully onto the roof next to the raven. The slave grinned at him in a manner that was entirely too smug and challenging. It didn't help that Juvia clapped the slave's acrobatics. "That was magnificent!"

"Whatever," Gray muttered in Common. He picked up the basket and the three of them walked along the tiles towards where the roof crested. Hot wind blew in Gray's face, blowing hair into his eyes. Beside him, he noticed Natsu stiffen. He didn't understand why until he heard:

"What's the slave doing here?" Lyon asked in Common.

The two locked eyes on each other in a death stare. Natsu looked angry, while Lyon just looked annoyed.

"Well, none of us had permanent slaves before, so I thought..." Juvia trailed off.

"If he's noisy we can always push him off the roof," Lyon said in Tribal with a smirk directed at Natsu.

Gray pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't aggravate him."

Natsu bared his teeth. "Do you also have flying magic? Cuz you're gonna need it!" Natsu stepped menacingly towards Lyon.

Gray grabbed his arm. "Don't," he said in a calm tone.

Now the slave looked like he wanted to take out his anger on him.

Juvia jumped in between them. "No fighting!" She gave Lyon a disapproving look. "Lyon was joking. Natsu will get used to it."

"Yeah, get used to it, pink top," Lyon said.

"Go to zopy," Natsu said and ripped his arm off Gray's grip. It didn't take a genius to figure out the last word was an insult.

"Why? You smell as if you're already been there," Lyon said.

Gray swore he almost saw fire in the slave's eyes. He grabbed the Tribal leader to prevent him from punching the white-haired prince. "Lyon, don't. He's angered easily."

"Well, sorry, princess." Lyon shrugged. "Not my fault your slave can't take a joke."

Even though Gray restrained Natsu in his arms and felt the slave's back nearly flush against his chest, it wasn't the same.

"Lyon, apologise," Juvia said.

Lyon pursed his lips. "Yeah, whatever. Sorry," he said in Tribal. "Don't take it personally, Chieftain. I say the same things to little Gray here too."

"Shut up. Don't call me little."

"Aww, is little Gray having a temper tantrum?"

Gray glared.

"You're always little to me, Gray. Can't change that, I'm afraid."

"You're only three years older. I'm afraid that didn't make you smarter." Gray said in Common. Natsu didn't struggle nearly as much as he did the first night. The pain from the watermill must be finally taking hold.

Lyon grinned. "I'm smart enough to learn my Tribal."

Gray wished that it was Lyon in his hold so he could strangle him. He hated when his brother was right.

"Gray-sama doesn't know Tribal?" Juvia asked in Tribal.

Gray didn't want to answer, however there was no point in delaying the inevitable. "I don't know many."

Lyon laughed, and Gray resisted the urge to let Natsu punch that smile off his face. Juvia looked at him sympathetically.

"I win," Lyon declared.

Gray didn't dignify that comment with a reply.

Natsu finally stopped struggling in his arms. The prince waited a few more seconds before he slowly let go. He stood close by, just in case they would launch at each other again.

"You can stay if you want," Lyon said to Natsu, who was still fuming.

Natsu glared.

It didn't look like they were going to exchange blows so Gray and Juvia started to walk towards the meeting place behind the captain.

"I would have had them if it wasn't for you!" Natsu suddenly said, taking a wide stance.

Lyon shrugged. "It wasn't my choice. I did it because my Cheif-"

"Your father told you?" Natsu sneered. "You always follow everything he says? You smell just like him."

Lyon's gaze hardened. "I'm not like him."

Natsu's look seemed to challenge that.

"I haven't chopped off your arm yet, so be grateful." He folded his arms over his chest.

The unwanted images returned to the forefront of Gray's mind and he sat down on the crest of the roof. Screams echoed in his mind. "It was my fault," he whispered.

Juvia sat next to him and covered his hand with hers. "Is Gray-same all right?"

Gray resisted sliding away from her, even though he wanted to. She was far too close. He gently tugged his hand away and kept his gaze firmly down. He didn't want to feel guilty on top of everything if he looked her in the eyes.

"Let's move from here first, then Gray can tell you all about it," Lyon said, no humour in his voice. "Someone could discover us."

The three of them went over the crest of the roof, then down the side into the lowest and the most shielded part of the roof, directly above Juvia's quarters. It was almost completely hidden, except from the eyes of the king's concubines in the tower above. They were safe as long as they kept to the east side of the sheltered area.

Natsu stopped when the roof crested and they saw the desert scenery beyond. Gray was stunned to see Natsu's face crumble into sadness. His posture slumped and he looked at the sand dunes beyond Fairy Tail's walls with deep longing. Gray stopped too. He couldn't quite imagine what it must have felt like to be brought from the desert to the palace. Natsu didn't stay frozen for very long, but to Gray it felt like forever.

They reached the little sheltered area, where Lyon had already made an ice balustrade to prevent accidents like the one time Juvia had accidentally fallen off the ledge. Thanks to Lyon's and his quick thinking she was all right, but no one wanted to repeat that experience.

Natsu looked apprehensively at the ice, and stayed furthest from the barrier and Lyon.

"Did the king order someone's hand cut off? Why?" Juvia asked as she sat down on the ledge next to Gray, arms looped around the balustrade. Her attentive blue gaze rested on him, full of compassion he didn't deserve. "What does Gray-sama has to do with it?"

Gray didn't want to talk about it, much less trying to explain it in Tribal. Natsu also appeared to be listening.

"Are you sitting with us or what?" Lyon asked from his seat on the other side of Juvia.

Natsu crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm not siting with you."

Gray felt a vein in his forehead pop. "You've come this far, you're sitting with us. Sit!" He indicated a place next to him. "Remember what I said." Gray rubbed his arm as if he had bracelets there.

Natsu looked torn. He was clearly angry, and looked at the place next to Gray as if it was crawling with snakes. On the other hand, he met Gray's gaze with an intense but surprisingly not a malicious stare.

Cautiously, he moved towards them and sat on the other side of Gray, but much further away than he rest of them. He swallowed, looking unsettled.

"No one is going to push you off, Natsu," Juvia said, shooting a glare at Lyon. "Please forgive us if we're making you uncomfortable. We've never had anyone sit with us before."

"True that," Lyon said. "None of us had a permanent slave, until little Gray here."

"Shut up."

Natsu's face darkened. "I'm not anyone's slave." He eyed the group with a shadow over his face. He held Gray's gaze longer than the others'. "None of you can make me stay here."

Heavy silence descended on the group.

"I'm sorry about what happened to your tribe," Juvia said.

Natsu looked at the desert, not acknowledging her statement.

"I'm glad you sat with us because we're about to have some cake." She took off the basket covering to reveal a baked fruit cake. The smell of honey mixed with the hot air. Gray thought maybe he could have a little of that.

Juvia served the treat, Gray passing Natsu a slice, who despite his not liking being with them, inhaled it in one go. Gray nibbled on his.

"It's good," Lyon mumbled with a mouthful of cake. "What's in it? Pear?"

Juvia smiled. "Granata fruit."

Gray felt his stomach lurch. He suddenly didn't feel hungry.

He passed his slice to Natsu. "All yours."

Natsu didn't question it and shoved the slice into his mouth.

"Did…did it come out bad?" Juvia asked Gray in Common, her hands clasped in front of her chest. "Maybe Gray-sama got a bad spot? Here, have Juvia's slice."

"I'm just not hungry." Gray said.

"More for me." Lyon grinned and grabbed another piece of granata cake.

Juvia's shoulders slumped and she looked down at her slice for a long moment. Ice crystals formed around her fingertips.

"Is it not to your liking?" She said in a shaky voice. "I can make it better next time."

"It tastes great, just not…" Gray sighed.

"You think too much," Lyon said. "If I let every little thing get to my head like you do, I'd be in a coma."

"Let's speak in Tribal," Juvia said. "Gray-sama needs to learn it and Natsu can understand us then. So, what happened?"

Lyon ended up telling the tale, as Gray's throat suddenly froze up.

"That's horrible!" Juvia said. "Juvia is sorry. She didn't know about the granata fruit. She will put it away right now!"

"Hey!" Lyon protested.

Gray was more interested in what the Tribal leader thought. The pinkette looked pensive, biting his lip.

Gray finally found his voice. "I wanted to help Mirajane..."

Juvia's gaze softened. "No one could have foreseen the chieftain would do that."

"Actually, I could," Lyon said. "Haven't I told you he made me whip my own men? If they weren't his own soldiers, he'd have chopped off their limbs without hesitation. What did you expect to happen when he found out someone's been stealing for as long as Vidaldus has behind his back?"

"It makes sense in hindsight!" Gray snapped. "What did I have to do then? Leave Vidaldus to hurt Mirajane and the others? You heard he slapped her!"

"I would have helped you come up with something better," Lyon said bitterly. "If you talked to me, damn it!"

Gray bit his lip. It hurt to admit that he knew nothing. The catastrophe resulted entirely from his incompetence as a ruling class. Lyon should be the crown prince, not I.

"Found you, Gray Fullbuster!"

A chill ran down Gray's neck as the figure of Erza Scarlet stood on the roof behind them.

Yay for Erza! You can count on her to make things more difficult than they need to.

I give heartfelt thanks to all who reviewed, favoured and followed this story in the past month. This chapter wouldn't have happened without you.